The Con (also known as Gamble Con Fight in Japan and The Con: Gamble Fight in South Korea) is a Fighting Game for the Sony PSP. It was developed by a Japanese company called Think & Feel and published by Sony. It takes on an urban flair with an emphasis on betting, with the ability to throw matches, but making them look convincing.
It was first released on North America on October 18 2005, then on Japan on February 23 2006, Australia in March 29 2007, and Europe on the next day after Australia.
The main plot is about the player gets out of the prisoner transport vehicle and uncuffed by the guard. Then he gave the player a business card from Kuro, but he throw it off and followed Reina instead. Reina then teaches the player how fight opponents, con people's money, and pureposely lose for the sake of money. After that, the player confronted Reina and told her He/She's done. Reina then replied that she owns the player, which leads to the player challenging Reina in the Junkyarf, but unfortunately, she was shot by the van driver. The player then soon recruits two random fighters to create a team and make it to the Big Time tournament to find out the real perpetrator behind Reina's death.
The main obvious point of the game is to con people. You either bet yourself, act like the loser, and when the bet starts, you make a huge comeback. Or "take a dive", where you bet on your opponent, act like a winner, and when the bet starts, purposely lose yourself without making the con meter thumbs down, or you're gonna taste the beatdown of the crowd and gives you few injuries.
The game has a mixed reception in few days after its released, but despite that, it's considered as a hidden gem for some people.
List of tropes!
- Afro Asskicker: KFJ.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Also KFJ.
- Attract Mode: One introduces some of the major characters of Story Mode, the other just shows random CPU-controlled fights.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: You can make your character/teammate wear like one in Story mode.
- Battle Intro: Every fighter in the game has it.
- Beehive Hairdo: One of the Unlockable hairs in Story mode.
- Blocking Stops All Damage: Averted, it has a Break Meter on the character's arms.
- Calling Card: It was given by the guard who uncuffed the MC, brushes off the card goes with Reina instead.
- Character Customization: You design the fighter used in Story Mode.
- Character Tiers: In-Universe, In Story mode, there's Class D, Class C, Class B, Class A, and Class S (and it's also optional if you already had $100,000 to join the Big Time tournament).
- Charles Atlas Superpower: Boneyard, he threw a car in the game's intro.
- Con Man: Everyone who fights in this game.
- Cool Shades: Boneyard, Reina, Cornfed, Shaman, Kuro, No Shadow, The Way, and the MC if worn.
- Counter-Attack: The unlockable move "Payback" for Wrestlers applies to this trope.
- Cutscene Boss: Often shown every time before fighting the Boss' team.
- Dead Hat Shot: Reina's death, the only thing shown after she gets shot was her ice-filled glass falling in slow motion.
- Death or Glory Attack: Pretty much all of the Throws and Super Moves.
- Delinquent Hair: Yurya.
- Ditto Fighter: Mask fights using whatever style your character uses. By beating him with a character that uses a style on Hard, you unlock the version of Mask that uses that style.
- Diving Kick: Some of the moves for the Taekwondo users and the Dropkick for wrestlers applied to this trope.
- Extremity Extremist: Taekwondo fighters use no punches, Street Boxers use no kicks.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: If you look closely in seconds before Reina's death, you can see the one who pulled the trigger is Smoke.
- Grapple Move: Each of every characters with different fighting styles has it, with the most prominent one is Wrestling style.
- Inevitable Mutual Betrayal: After defeating Team Crimson of Rank B, Smoke offers you to be his partner (despite his questionable action in the beginning). If you accept his offer, you can choose which fighting style he would use and who's member you can replace with so that he will stick in your team for the rest of the story until he left your group in the Big Time tournament finals. Then it was revealed that he's just infiltrating your group. Now you have to fight Team Menace, while having two members against three.
- Japanese Delinquent: Yurya.
- Kimono Fanservice: Anzu.
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: Reina, who gets you into the fighting circuit and teaches you the ropes, gets shot to death half-way through the game.
- Fedora of Asskicking: Reina, Santiago, and the MC if worn.
- Old Master: Master Zu
- Only in It for the Money: One of the Con Artist MC's goal for fighting.
- Panty Fighter: This trope applies when your female character/teammate wear a panty on Story mode.
- Regional Bonus: In the Japanese release, you will get four additional characters (Platina, Anzu, Yurya, and Daiba) in exchange for the original default ones (Slick, Master Zu, Conquess, and The Way) from the North American release.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Boneyard: "Reina and I were tight, but not in the funny way everybody thinks!"
- Taking the Fight Outside: Said and suggested by the MC when he/she told Reina that it's over and Reina say that she owns him/her.
- Tournament Arc: The Big Time tournament, it's a part of the main goal of Story mode.
- Unlockable Content: It ranges from Clothes, Hairs, and Accessories, to stages and boss characters.
